Pyritised ammonite

This ammonite was found in Germany in the town of Buttenheim near Bamberg. The beautiful golden glow of the ammonite is immediately noticeable. This color is caused by the iron ore pyrite. During the fossilization process the Ammonite is not petrified but 'pyritised'.

European ammonite

This ammonite belongs to the Pleuroceras Spinatum family that lived between 190 and 183 million years ago. This species lived mainly in the earea where Europe is nowdays. Ammonites were a group of marine mollusks where the current squid also belongs to. Nowdays squids have their shell inside but the Ammonites had their shell outside their body, just like snails.

Chambers of an Ammonite

The Ammonites house consists of chambers. Whenever the hard case was too small for the animal it built a new room that was larger than the previous one. The animal always lived in the last build room. The empty rooms could be filled with water or gas. Like that the ammonite could travel between the surface and the bottem of the sea.